The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra

This book was given to me as a Christmas gift from my boyfriend’s sister and her husband. I absolutely loved it- it’s short and sweet, yet very powerful. A perfect gift. The 7 Laws include 1. The Law of Pure Potentiality. 2. The Law of Giving 3. The Law of Karma ~ Cause & Effect 4. The Law of Least Effort 5. The Law of Intention and Desire 6. The Law of Detachment 7. The Law of Dharma. Below are the points I found to be especially impacting from this book:

Success in life could be defined as the continued expansion of happiness and the progressive realization of worthy goals. Success is the ability to fulfill your desires with effortless ease.

The ego is your self-image. The ego however, is not who you really are. It is your social mask, it’s the role you’re playing. Your social mask thrives on approval. It wants to control, and it’s sustained by power, because it lives in fear. Your true Self, which is your spirit and soul, is completely free of those things. It’s immune to criticism, it is unfearful of any challenge, and it feels beneath no one and superior to no one.

Self-power is based on the knowledge of Self, and there are certain characteristics of self-power. It draws people to you and also draws the things you want to you. It magnetizes people and situations to support your desires.

If you want to make full use of your self-power, you must access it. One way to access this power is the daily practice of silence, meditation, and non-judgement. Spending time in nature will also give you access to the qualities in creativity, freedom, and bliss. Practicing silence means making a commitment of a certain amount of time each day to simply be.

The Law of Giving: if you want joy, give joy to others. If you want love, learn to give love. If you want attention and appreciation, learn to give it. etc. The easiest way to happiness, is to first help others. The best way to make use of this law is deciding that anytime you come into contact with someone, you will give them something.

The best way to prepare for any moment in the future, is to be fully present in the current moment.

When one struggles against what’s happening, they’re actually struggling against the entire universe. Instead, you can make the decision that you will not struggle against the whole universe by struggling against the moment. This means your acceptance of this moment is total and complete. You accept things as they are, not as you wish they were. You can wish for things in the future to be different, but in this moment you have to accept things as they are for mental peace.

The Law of Detachment says that in order to acquire anything in the physical universe, you have to rid yourself of your attachment to it. This doesn’t mean you give up the intention to create your desire. You give up your attachment to the result. When you experience uncertainty, you are on the right path- so don’t give up. You don’t need to have a complete idea of what you’ll be doing next week or next year, because then you’ll become rigidly attached to those events, and shut down a whole range of possibilities. A good daily reading, “I will commit myself to detachment. I will allow myself and those around me the freedom to be as they are. I will not rigidly impose my idea of how they should be. I will not force solutions on problems, thereby creating new problems. I will participate in everything with detached involvement.”

The author told his children again and again that they had to find out the reason they’re on this earth. He says, “They heard me tell them this since the age of four. I also taught them to meditate. I never want you to worry about making a living. If you’re unable to make a living when you grow up, I’ll provide for you, so don’t worry about that. I don’t want you to focus on doing well in school. I don’t want you to focus on getting the best grades or going to the best colleges. What I want you to focus on is asking yourself how you can serve humanity, and finding out what your unique talents are. Because you have a unique talent that no one else has, and you have a special way of expressing that talent.” They ended up going to the best schools, getting the best grades, are self-sufficient financially, because they are focused on what they are here to give. This is the Law of Dharma. This law states that each of us are here to discover our true Self, find out how to express our true talents and serve humanity with our true talents. Ask yourself if money were no issue, what would you do? If you would still do what you do, you are in dharma, because you have the passion for what you do- and you’re expressing your unique talents. Ask yourself how you are to serve humanity, and put it into practice.

The last bullet point has stuck with me through most of my readings. I find it especially profound and important. Really think about your true purpose and calling, and go after it 🙂